Beck Dental Care of Columbia Blog

Scheduling a routine checkup and cleaning prevents common issues like cavities and gum disease. Regularly seeing your dentist allows them to monitor your condition so they can spot and treat areas of concern, like bleeding gums or weakening enamel, before they progress.

However, did you know that your provider also screens your mouth for oral cancer during standard visits? If it’s been a while since your last dental appointment, keep reading to learn 3 things about this harmful condition that might motivate you to book your next visit!

Thanks to the All-on-4 procedure, you can have an entire row of teeth replaced with a lifelike full denture in as little as one appointment. This can obviously be an attractive option for many patients who have experienced extensive tooth loss – but is it truly the best choice for you? Before you decide whether to pursue All-on-4, it’s worth taking the time to consider the pros and cons of the treatment.

While 2024 isn’t quite over yet, it’ll wrap up before you know it. January is only a few short weeks away from bringing a new year and many new changes! With that said, you should consider making a trip to your local dental practice sooner rather than later. When you schedule a dental checkup early in the year, that timely session offers a slew of unique benefits. Learn more in this helpful primer from your local Columbia dentist and their team!

Thanks to their ability to act as artificial tooth roots, dental implants have become a popular option for restoring incomplete smiles. But if you’re a smoker, you need to be careful; using cigarettes could have a less-than-positive impact on your chances for a successful treatment. Below is a quick look at how smoking can affect dental implants – and whether they’ll stop you from undergoing the procedure.

Sedation treatments have allowed millions of patients to receive necessary oral health care despite mild to severe dental anxiety. However, you may not be aware of how these treatments can help many people who aren’t nervous about seeing their dentist. Here’s a brief guide to how dental sedation may be able to help you enjoy easier and more effective dental appointments.

Fall has arrived, bringing annual celebrations around popular holidays like Thanksgiving. If you’re like nearly 91% of Americans this time of year, you’re eagerly making plans to visit family or cook the perfect dish to share.

Although this is a great time to share memorable meals with family and friends, don’t forget that your dinner habits impact your oral health. Indulging in too many sweet treats can result in cavities, gum disease, injuries, or other issues if you don’t take the proper preventative measures. With that in mind, keep reading to learn about three desserts to enjoy that can support your smile rather than harm it!

Everyone loves a good night’s sleep, but many people don’t have an accurate idea of how sleep works. After you close your eyes for the evening, your brain cycles through four distinct phases, and each one plays a different role in how the body heals and recovers after a day’s activities. Three of these stages are categorized as non-rapid eye movement (NREM) sleep, or quiet sleep, and the last one is called rapid eye movement (REM) sleep, or active sleep. Here’s a brief guide to each of these stages and why they are so important for your health.

Your gums are easy to take for granted. They may seem to play a supporting role next to teeth in your smile, but in reality, they are just as essential! In fact, your gums serve an incredibly important purpose and can have a substantial impact on your health and quality of life. Here are just three reasons you should pay attention to and take good care of your gums every day.  

A fixed dental bridge is the most traditional method of replacing one or more lost teeth in a row. They are designed to provide long-lasting results. Traditional bridges have an average life expectancy of 5 to 15 years, but many things can influence the duration of your results. Here’s what you need to know to ensure your dental bridge serves you for many years.

(more…)

Most people with good oral and overall health are candidates for dental implants. However, it’s not unusual to require a little prep work before your placement surgery. Your dentist will review a CT scan of your oral structures and perform a visual examination of your mouth to ensure they are right for you. Based on the results of their findings, they may determine you need preliminary procedures. Don’t worry! Here are the most common procedures that may be needed before getting dental implants.

(more…)